wheres the rain line
new color dash wheel
white and silver
this is fun
chicane in rain
12 in rain
new color
new color side
|
wheres the rain line |
new color dash wheel |
white and silver |
this is fun |
|
chicane in rain |
12 in rain |
new color |
new color side |
Video of off at Turn 12 here (requires Real Player)
Race results here
Road Atlanta is one of America’s really great tracks.
It is a very challenging 2.54 mile layout with 12 turns, great elevation
change, is fast, technical, and has just about everything. The first time you
fly through the ‘suzuki’ bridge, and see the earth beneath your feet, it
takes your breath away (and other things).
The weekend was rain, rain, rain. We were very lucky, having a full test day w/o rain (I had a
scary off – one of a few – on the downhill (see video) and resolved to get
this right as this is a very dangerous section), a screwed up qualifying day
(which hurt me badly in terms of position) as a result of not being able to see
at all – had to come in (bad face shield), and a lucky race day, with rain
coming only on the last lap!
The subsequent rain was so bad that they red-flagged the
GT1 race that Paul Newman was in, right behind us.
Watching these powerful cars fight their way through the rain was
awesome. Paul (car #77 for,
presumably, his age) was quite something starting in second position and holding
his position in incredible conditions.).
My goal, coming off of roebling road with a clean finish
and improved times against the best
in the country, was to achieve a proportionally improved (meaning, adjusted for
the length of the track) finish (in times) and a clean race.
My qualifying problems placed me at the back of the pack.
My best test day lap times told me that I could be credible in the middle
of the pack. I was aggressive at the
start and gained a number of positions in the first seven laps; I think I was
about 17th. I made an
error coming into the chicane, thinking I could pass a car I couldn’t, and we
collided. We went off track. I was able to restart and get back on track with significant
damage to the nose.
After a lap past the pits, my crew radioed that I should
come in as a section of the nose was hanging; also, the nose seemed to be in
danger of flying off. So,
reluctantly, I pitted. They taped
everything back together.
I went back out and passed some cars, but it was pointless
at this juncture. Although I was
posting good times, I was a lap back, and the nose continued to threaten to
leave. The track was awful at that
point; I spun in seven, a 360, hitting the tire wall with the rear quarter of
the car. I restarted and tried to
regain prior position but I was only able to complete 17 (of 18) laps before the
race ended (but I did finish!).
I posted a best time of 1:45.5, which was only 3 secs off
the leaders (and proportionally, achieved my goal). But I was very frustrated and disappointed with my error and
the damage it caused. The guy I
contacted was out. I probably need
a new nose at ~$1500?.
Thinking back, I had 16 laps to go and was running very
well. I had the chance to finish in
the top third, perhaps, with some patience and luck.
All in, an exceptional weekend…much learned, and much to learn.